Chapter 13: The Burning Moon part 2

In a dark cave, a young girl was sitting while pressing her back to the wall of the cave. He was wearing torn clothes and was fast asleep. She had very long black hair, which, in her current position, reached the ground. She was in the deepest part of the cave in which absolutely no light could reach her.

In the complete silence, which was occasionally broken by her ragged breathing, suddenly, a new kind of sound could have been heard. It was almost as if something was running at great speed. The sound at first began as some small noise, but it gradually grew louder. It got so loud that the girl even woke up and slightly moved but had not yet opened her eyes.

When the steps grew even closer, the girl finally opened her eyes. She had beautiful purple eyes which glow in the darkness. She slowly pushed herself up with shaking limbs, and as she was finally standing, she glanced at her skinny, shaking hands.

"I am getting weaker day by day... I don't know for how long I will be able to last..."

She mumbled as she started walking in the darkness. Although it was so dark that it would have been impossible for anyone to see, she managed to walk without a problem and without hitting the rough walls of the cave. She even leaned down when she got to a lower portion of the cave.

While she was walking, the running noise disappeared, and once again, she was the only source of sound. The sound of her bare feet on the cold stone of the cave and her irregular breathing. In the distance, the girl could see a greenish light, and as soon as she noticed it, her eyes widened, and then a grin formed on her face. She collected all her strength, and with a great pace, she rushed towards the light.

Soon, she got out of the cave. The cave was located on the side of a massive mountain. At the foot of the mountain was a massive and seemingly endless forest as far as the eye could see. As she set foot outside, she could see the massive green moon slowly crawling up into the sky.

"Such phenomena! Green Moon... And on top of that, it is a full moon?!"

"My lady! I am sorry for the late notification; however, we had a minor inconvenience. Some monster tried to infiltrate your sacred cave, so I had to deal with them..."

Said a faint, high-pitched, but still somewhat menacing voice from above the girl. She quickly looked up to see a tiny figure slowly moving down. The entity was about the size of the girl's palm and had a pair of leathery wings. She had dark green eyes, and her face was covered with blood.

As soon as the tiny fairy-like creature noticed the girl's gaze, a small smile appeared on her face, showing her razor-sharp and slightly boddy teeth.

"You are forgiven... I was woken up by that intruder... I was just about to lose hope, but with this moon, I will be able to hold out a bit longer."

The girl smiled at the fairy-like creature, showing her teeth as well, which was just as sharp if not sharper than the tiny being's.

"Lady Aier, do not say such things! I am sure you are just joking. You are the ruler of this domain; without it, it would collapse!"

The fairy-like character responded; her voice, however, greatly changed. This time, it was melancholic and sad. She instantly flew over to the girl's chest and tried to hug her despite her tiny size. At her try, Aier only chuckled and patted her tiny head.

As he was about to return the hug, she suddenly froze. She smelled a strange aroma, which caused her to react that way. Sensing that her lady had tensed up, the tiny girl let go of her, hovered backwards a bit and looked at her.

"Lady Aier... What's the matter?"

"Did anything happen while I was not available?"

"No! Nothing noteworthy. They still live in their usual groups, and the number of fights within groups has been significantly reduced. Only a few happened in recent days, to be honest."

The tiny girl replied hastily, and with concern, she looked at Aier. Who slowly scanned the area she could perceive from that high up.

"I can smell something... Something new, but still, it brings up memories... Initiate a full search! Search every portion of the forest, and if you see anything new or strange, report back to me immediately!"

Upon hearing the sudden declaration, the fairy-like creature was stunned. She has never seen Aier like this. Her grin had long disappeared, and in its place, a cold, menacing stare appeared, which was directed at the forest. Although that gaze was not directed towards her, she felt a shiver run down her spine.

"Now go; I still have to start absorbing this rare, powerful Green Moon's energy while I still can!"

The tiny girl didn't say anything, just nodded and then, at an incredible speed, flew away, leaving the girl alone. She sat down, crossed her legs and sighed. Once the tiny girl was quite a distance away, Aier's expression changed.

Although she seemed angry previously, it was quite the opposite; she was excited and curious at the same time. The aroma she could smell, for some reason, felt as if it was similar to the Green Moon that was currently happening. That smell contained a similar amount of energy.

As the girl kept staring into the distance, time was ticking by fast, and soon, almost half an hour had gone by before the girl finally returned to reality and shook her head. She took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled. In the meantime, she relaxed her entire body and slowly closed her eyes.

Her previously ragged breathing had started stabilising, as well as her slightly shaking hands. In complete silence, only the light wind could be heard as it played with her long hair.